Survival
by The Infamous Fly
Summary: Wendy and Dipper get swept up in a mudslide, and stranded in the middle of the woods, with Wendy's broken leg, Dipper is forced to take care of her. But the close proximity and dire circumstances causes him to start to reveal that he still has feelings for her. I do not own Gravity Falls or the cover art. Rated T for blood, and character endangerment.
1. Chapter 1

"I'm telling you, this is the ultimate place to go swimming. When its too crowded by the pool or the lake, you go to Moose bear spring." They had been discussing how hot it was back at the shack when Wendy had suggested that she could take him swimming in the natural spring. And right now they were on their way there, taking the golf cart down an ancient path which had existed since Quentin Trembly founded this strange town. "Why is it called Moose-bear spring again? Moose aren't even indigenous to Oregon..."

She shrugged, "Beats me, I didn't come up with the name. I just know that it feels amazing on a hot day."

Dipper nodded absentmindedly and stared off into the woods, "It's a shame Mabel is going to miss this." He pretended both to her and himself that he wasn't happy to have her to himself. The ginger took her eyes off the path briefly, "I forgot. Why is it she can't come?" Dipper shrugged, "Something about helping Grenda get ready for her date with an Austrian prince." Nodding, Wendy returned her focus to the path. "AH! Here we are…" She pulled up in front of a small rock formation; the brunette looked around, and was confused by the lack of water. "I don't see any natural pool…or moose-bear." She rolled her eyes with a smile and dismounted, throwing a bag of the essentials over her shoulder. "Ha-ha. It's a little way ahead. C'mon!" She began to walk towards the forest. He hopped out and followed her, slightly reluctantly.

The pool appeared to be downhill, and as Dipper began to walk he started to pick up momentum and slid in the mud. His hands began to go windmill style as he attempted to slow himself down; Wendy laughed as he went tumbling past her and crashed into a bush at the bottom of the hill. The redhead walked up to the bush with a hand placed over her mouth, attempting and failing to stifle her laugh, "Are you okay?" His head popped out of the shrubbery and he spat out a twig with smile. "I'm fine."

She threw her bag onto the beach next to the spring, and threw her towel onto the log. She pulled off her shirt, revealing the top half of the one piece bathing suit she was wearing and began removing her pants as well. Dipper took off his shirt and began rubbing his SPF:50 on, his chest and back. "Hey, can you get my back?" He gulped and nodded, stepping forward and with one hand he began rubbing the lotion into his companion's exposed upper back. The touch and smell of her was enough to mesmerize him, and he kept rubbing until eventually it she asked him if he was okay. "Yeah, I...uh, I'm sorry, I'm just really tired, and I almost fell asleep." His crush nodded and scratched the back of her neck, her face red.

Desperate to ignore the truth of the matter, they both accepted the lie and the young detective tried to change the subject. "So, when was the last time you were here?" His crush looked thoughtful, and then she lit up, "Back at the beginning of summer!" He nodded, "Why didn't you invite me and Mabel?" She smirked, "It was before I met you, dork." He nodded once again, "Well I'm glad you didn't bring your friends with us today." The lanky girl frowned, "Oh?" The youthful brunette stumbled for the right words, 'It's just, there kind of rowdy, with the exception of Tambry. And I wanted to hang out with you..." She sighed, the two of them hadn't hung out that much since the bunker, and she didn't want to lose a great friend like him. That's why she had suggested this place to begin with.

Most of the trees in this area had been cut down in the town's lumber days, so the sun streamed down onto the waters unobstructed, and caused it to glisten. His sweetheart climbed onto a massive log, which stretched over the spring and spoke before leaping down into the water. "Alright, that's enough talk, it's time to swim."Dipper took a step back to avoid being splashed, "Come on in, the water's great!" He tested the water with his toe, "I don't know Wendy, maybe I should just wade my way-" She rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm, pulling him into the pool with a quick tug.

"Woah, woah, WOAH!" There was a splash as the sleuth entered the water, and surfaced almost immediately afterwards, shivering and trembling in the cold. "It's fre-fre-freezing..." he manages to get out as his teeth clicked and clacked together. She smiled, "Oh, you'll warm up." She advised smugly, before swimming to the far end of the pool, and sighing in comfort as she leaned against the sun baked rocks. He blushed and swam towards her, with a mischievous smile beginning to form on his face. "Hey, what are you planning?" the redhead squinted at him and raised her arms defensively.

He dove forward and climbed on top her, reaching underneath her arms and tickling the hell out of her. She giggled and tried to push him off, causing both of them to fall into the water. They surfaced after a moment, both laughing hysterically. The two trouble makers began dashing around the spring, laughing like hyenas, and splashing one another.

* * *

So much fun was had that they quickly lost track of time, and it wasn't until two hours later they realized that not only was it getting late, but storm clouds were crowding overhead. Wendy had just suggested they get going when it began to drizzle. The two leaped out of the spring and scrambled to pick up their things, as the rain picked up and the breeze turned into a gust.

The trees started to moan as Dipper struggled to walk uphill, with the wind pushing him back down and the rain making the mud even more slippery. This combined with the fact that he was not particularly strong or fast for his age caused him to fall backwards, and scream Wendy's name as he plummeted towards where the rainwater and overflowing spring had created a mudslide, sweeping everything in its path away.

The redhead had been almost to the top of the hill when she heard his call, and was previously unaware that he was so far behind her. She ran downhill, but slipped and fell face forward causing her leg twisting at an unusual angle. Momentarily stunned, she too was swept up in the mudslide, and she grabbed a hold of a log, screaming in pain as the action moved her leg. Dipper tried to stand but found it impossible, so he half walked half swam towards her, the tide pushing the log towards his struggling form. Grabbing a hold of the log, he stared across to Wendy, who still had look of pain twisting her face; she was biting her lip so hard it had begun to bleed.

The mudslide threw them around like rag dolls, until eventually they slowed to a halt. Once everything had come to a complete stop, and Dipper had regained his senses (he had vomited a while back and was still feeling sickly), and stood. He tried to help his friend up, but they quickly realized that her leg would not allow her to stand without support. "I'm gonna go get a stick for a splint; I'll be back as soon as possible." She nodded, the pain bringing tears to her eyes.

He waded through the muck, having to lift an entire leg with every step, halfway to the tree line he stopped and looked back at her. His face was the picture of worry. He gulped and picked up the pace trying to move twice as fast.

Dipper was glad he had clung onto the journal during the mudslide, according to the map at the beginning of the book they must have had landed somewhere at the bottom of the valley, between two mountains, they were completely cut off from the town, and many miles away from the nearest road. Once he got out of the quagmire, Dipper began searching for a good stick and some vines. Careful to make the least amount of noise possible, Dipper crouched as rooted through the piles of sticks that the ground offered. Finding the right stick relatively quickly, the young detective realized that the vines were most likely higher up the mountain.

There was no path, and although the storm had subsided, it still made hiking up the mountain an incredibly difficult feat, and Dipper worried that by the time he found the vines and returned an animal would have gotten to her. Finally coming upon some vines, Dipper gripped them and tore the vegetation from the cliff side. They gripped so tightly that his hands ended up cut and covered in rope burns by the time he had collected enough.

Then he sped back down the mountain.

* * *

Wendy struggled to stay conscious, she kept slipping back and forth, everything had become a blur and it felt impossible to keep awake. Like she was fighting a war that she never had a chance of winning, it was inevitable that she would soon fall asleep. And she was ruled by the crippling fear that she would never wake up. _You have to, stay awake, you have to…._

Bathing suit had torn in several places, and she felt like her entire body was covered in something hot and slow, something sticky that smelled metallic and stung the nose. She called out several times, hoping that Dipper would hear her. But all that came out was a series of weak cries, which made her feel even more pathetic. _Nice job, now you're relying on a twelve year old to save you. This was your idea, and now the two of you are going to die in the wilderness. For all you know, he could be dead._

These thoughts brought more tears to her eyes, and no matter how much she tried to calm down and think rationally she couldn't help it. Everything was a swirl

"Wendy! I'm back!" She tried to turn and found it very difficult, so she gritted her teeth together and pushed herself to her feet. Staggering for a moment, she leaned against the log for support, the mud had started to clear into different directions, so it was easier to stand up in, and, as Dipper proved, walk through. He arrived out of breath, carrying a sizable stick and several coils of vine, "Wendy... I *gasp* found a cave *wheeze* not too far up the mountain. We'll be safe there." She nodded and lay back on the log, "Have you made a splint before?" He shook his head, "But I know how, they taught us at the camp I went to last summer." He sat down on the log, right in front of the bruise. It was swollen and purple, with torn and ripped skin. He placed the stick against the wound as gently as possible and she bit her already walled lip, trying to keep quiet.

I don't want to make this any harder for him. She tried to reason, but half of her was still disappointed in how she was relying on him to pull her through this mess, when her whole life she had been taught self reliance and survival. He began tying the stick to her shin, and she hissed in pain, squirming like a bug under a thumb. He looked distressed and unsure of himself for a moment. Then Wendy opened her eyes and, composing herself as best as she could, the redhead nodded to her friend to continue.

He nodded back and wrapped it as quickly and efficiently as possible. Then he gave her his hand, and helped pull the physically impaired teen to her feet. She stumbled, and for moment he was prepared to catch her if she fell. Then she straightened and reached down, leaning on Dipper's shoulder. He led her to the cave, the rain getting worse and worse as she was forced to hike up hill. He kept saying that they were almost there, and her pain and tiredness made her start to resent the term and it's user, no matter how logic protested.

It was pouring when they finally reached shelter, and both Wendy and her companion were soaked to the bone. Exhausted, she gave in to the pain, fell unconscious. Dipper was forced to carry Wendy the last few steps, he laid her down fourteen feet into the cavern, before removing the splint and checking her leg. It was worse than when he had applied the splint. The bruises looked bigger, there was more dried blood, and the cut seem to have stretched.

He sat down next to her. In all his experiences with the supernatural, things still had never looked this bad. They were miles away from rescue, and they couldn't hike back. They also lacked food, and warmth. He looked down at her, and was fascinated by how peaceful her sleeping was; then he remembered how much fun they had been having until the storm hit. _Don't worry, I'm gonna get us out of this. _

* * *

Mabel stared out the window at the storm clouds in dismay. She glanced at the clock for the umpteenth away in the hour, 8:20. The TV was on, she had been watching when she realized what time it was and how long it had been since Dipper and Wendy had left. At first she had chalked it up to them goofing around, or deciding to go somewhere else, and Dipper being too enamored to remember to call. Then there had been an emergency report on the TV warning against using the mountain roads, and that there had been massive mudslides in the West Mountains, where Dipper and Wendy had been headed.

Then she saw headlights pierce the mucky darkness of the storm, at first she thought it was the golf cart, but then she remembered that Golf carts don't have headlights. The car was beaten and its windows stained in mud, the door opened and a man dressed in a tall black coat exited the car, a bag of something in his right hand. He stomped over to door, Mabel grabbed the lamp, and raised it preparing to strike as the man banged on the door and demanded to be let in. "No way Jose!" The man groaned and messed around with the knob for a moment before the door went flying open. She charged towards him, but stopped short when he removed his hood, revealing a face she knew all too well.

"What you want me to die of phenomena? Why didn't you let me in?! Also, what are you doing with my good lamp?" She put down the lamp and averted eye contact as she apologized. "Sorry Grunkle Stan." He handed her a bag of groceries before running out to lock the car, and returning with a disgruntled look on his face. He called out to the kitchen, "Where's your brother? Upstairs as usual...?" She shook her head as she deposited the contents of the bag into the refrigerator, "He still isn't back yet..." The old man frowned and glanced at his watch, "He was supposed to be home three hours ago." Mabel walked into the living room with a sad look, "Do you think he and Wendy got lost?" He leaned down and patted her, not wanting to see his great-niece so worried. "I'm sure there fine, let me call the Corduroy's, there probably over there." He walked over to the house phone and began dialing. His great niece just sat on the sofa and stared at the TV, rocking back and forth. Stan was very annoyed at the movement and turned to her as he waited for someone to pick up, "Hey kid, will you stop-" she looked up at him, and his face softened. "Don't worry, he's gonna be fine, _they're_ going to be fine."

Someone picked up the phone and he turned away, "Hello? Yes this is Stan Pines. The guy who owns the Mystery Shack, yeah, I was wondering if a Dipper Pines was over there. No?" Mabel looked back u p from the weather report. _No, please let him be over there. Please let it be some sort of mistake. _"Well he's my great nephew, likes to hang around with your daughter. She hasn't come home either?" He rubbed the back of his neck, he hated delivering bad news.

"Alright listen, I don't want to alarm you, but there's a chance that your daughter and my great nephew are stranded in the wilderness." Mabel, bit her lip and stared out the window one last time, before running past Stan and up the stairs. Stan watched her go for a moment, "Okay, I'm goanna call the police, I suggest you do the same. I sincerely hope your daughter is fine, thank you. Bye." He hung up the phone and sighed, rubbing his temple. _What if they couldn't find him? What was his sister going to do if she lost her brother? She did not take loss well. And what was he going into tell their parents? _

He dialed 911 and once he had informed the police of the situation, and what the missing couple looked like, they told him that they would start searching the moment the storm let up and would contact him if they found anything. He hung up the phone, and began ascending the stairs. "Kid? Its goanna be okay…just uh, please come out." He opened the door to the twin's room, and saw her curled up on his bed, holding her scrapbook and her pig close to her. She had tears in her eyes, "Kid, you know its goanna be fine, right?" He rushed over to her, and she hugged him almost as soon as he got to the bed. She pressed her forehead against his chest and mumbled something, as her tears stained his suit. He was little bit shocked by the action, but swallowed and looked back at the door as he patted her back. "It's okay, he's goanna be fine…" he began wishing that he could believe that himself.


	2. Chapter 2

2

Wendy groaned, she had a splitting headache, and she felt numb all over. At first she didn't know why she was lying on a stone floor, then the previous day came back to her. Oh, god, it wasn't a dream. There was a tiny fire a few feet away, a pile of burnt sticks now. Her neck had a crick in it, and it hurt to turn it and survey the other side of the cave. Where is he? For a moment she had a thought. What if he went to get food and got killed. Or what if he just panicked, and ran off, leaving me behind to die of starvation. No, he wouldn't do that, he's a brave kid. Right?

"Wendy! You're awake!" The redhead turned the other way and saw Dipper standing at the cave's mouth, carrying a bag. She immediately felt awful for assuming the worst of him. He walked over to her, and dropped some berries into her lap. Wendy looked down at them, and then back up at her twelve year old friend. He raised his hands and smiled "Don't worry, they aren't poison." She raised an eyebrow, "And how do you know this?" he shrugged "I ate a few." she sat up straight "You did what!?" he smiled "It's okay, I was just messing around with you. But seriously, those berries are perfectly fine; I researched the local flora when I first got here." She stared back at him with half lidded eyes, "We're in a life and death situation and you choose now to joke around?" he smirked and began rummaging through the bag, "Just eat it." She looked back down at the dark blue berries, and threw one up into her mouth. She shuddered almost immediately at the sour taste, but continued eating, her empty stomach demanding sustenance.

"So I was looking around where the mudslide had landed us, and I found our bag of things." She had finished the berries and was going to get up and look in the bag, but when he turned and saw this he panicked and told her to sit back down. "Dude, what's wrong." then she felt the pain, and hissed as she quickly sat back down. "Your leg, I need to put the splint back on your leg…" She sighed, "Alright let's get this over with." He grabbed the stick and vines and began re-attaching it to her leg. "Why did you take it off in the first place?" The restriction of her movement was making the redhead feel a little ticked off. He looked a little hurt at the anger behind that question, and then he licked his lips and looked back down at his work. "Took it off to check your wound, I wanted to make sure it hadn't gotten worse. And to apply some rainwater I had collected to it, an-and then I was hungry and I had to go get some food for us, I'm s-sorry, I forgot..." He kept stuttering and the annoyance in her face disappeared, she felt even worse for getting angry at him when he had just been trying to help. Unable to see his face because of his cap and the angle of his head, she reached over and lifted Dipper's chin.

He was on the verge of crying. It was like a knife stab to the heart, and she was silent for a moment before she began apologizing. "Dude, I-I'm sorry, okay, I was just blaming you for my bad situation. Are you okay?" He nodded and sniffed, trying to conceal how hurt he had been. It was this exchange which made her realize he had never been angry with her, he had never yelled at her, even when she did stupid things, which she often did, he never blamed her for them. You don't deserve a friend like him, if you think he's betraying you every five seconds. She leaned forward and much to his surprise she hugged him. "It's gonna be okay dude, we're going to make it out of this." He smiled and for a moment everything seemed perfect.

Then Wendy retracted her arms and asked him with a playful smile "We good?" he nodded, looking much more confident and sure of his answer now. He finished the splint before turning and removing something from the bag. "My clothes! But how did you get them clean..." He rubbed the back of his neck, "I found them, and then I cleaned them, and you were still asleep so I hung them up on a low hanging branch to dry." Wendy was shocked at how much work he had put in, the clothes were spotless. "Thank you...this is really something." He laughed nervously "It's nothing really, can't have you walking around in a torn bathing suit now can we?" He meant it as a joke but it almost came out like a question. There was agonizing moment of awkwardness, and then Dipper stood, a blush clearly staining his cheeks, "Better let you get dressed. I'll go look for more berries." She nodded, almost as red faced, "Yeah that sounds...good."

He walked out of the cave a little too quickly, taking a number of deep breaths as soon as he was outside. You got to keep it together, you got to keep it together. Now is not the time to let her find out you still have a crush on her. Then he remembered how it had felt to hug her, how she smelled, and how her smile had made all his worries disappear. He shook himself, and tried to forget it, this made his heart ache however, he wanted so badly to make sure that nothing bad ever happened to her. And you can't do that if you're wasting time worrying about a silly crush, you have to stay focused. He straightened up and walked towards the woods, a determined look on his face.

* * *

"Okay, thank you for your time officer." Stan hung up the phone and rubbed his brow, before he looked over at his great niece. She was crawled up on the sofa, a sad look ruling her normally sunny features. Sighing, the old man took a few steps over to her and bent to be at the same level of eye contact, "They didn't find anything at the spring, but they just started looking." She nodded, then she got up and walked slowly out of the room, her pig trailing behind her. Despite it's squeals however, she ignored it. Now Stanford would not call himself an emotional man, but that sight was so disheartening he was forced to sit down and stare glumly at the ceiling. "Oh boy...I better call her parents, this is getting serious."

He got up and walked to the phone, a grimace on his face.

* * *

Dipper returned with the berries for dinner and found Wendy searching through the bag and around it, now fully dressed. "Missing something?" She sighed, "My hat. It's not in here." He shrugged, "I guess it was lost in the mudslide." The redhead stared up at him seriously, "You don't understand. Me without that hat, is like, I don't know, Mabel without sweaters or you without the journal." He placed the berries next to the fire pit, and smirked as he responded "That bad, huh?" She nodded, and began checking under the bag. "I don't know, I like it. I think you look pretty with all your hair down." He looked horrified the moment he realized that he said that aloud. She didn't move or speak for a moment, then she got up and turned to him, rubbing her arm instinctively. "So...what can I do to help?" He looked confused, "You should stay here while I-" She raised an eyebrow, "What? Go murder a bear and bring back its meat? Let's not forget who has been out in the wild the longest. Why don't you go get us some water, and I'll collect firewood." He stood up, worry clear on his face. "But your leg!" She puffed a strand of hair out of her face, "Dipper, I understand that you don't want anything bad to happen to me." He looked at the mossy cavern floor, "But I'm not helpless and I am not going to sit around and let you do everything on your own."

"Okay, sorry for being paranoid." He began to walk towards the mouth of the cave, when the object of his affections walked over and turned him so that they made eye contact. "I'm gonna be fine, okay?" He nodded and she smiled when she saw him doing the same. Then the taller of the two began her walk down the mountain, quickly followed by the preteen.

* * *

At first Dipper was unsure if he was going in the right direction, he kept looking back down at the map, which was soggy and muddy. Finally, after stumbling around in the woods for what felt like hours, he heard running water and ran to the source of the sound. Only to find that the water was too dirty. The mudslides had brought buckets of clay of and sand into the river, and no amount of boiling would sanitize that water. He groaned and threw the canteen to the ground, before sitting on the bank and staring into the flowing water. All right, you at still have a little rain water left in the other canteen, and if it rains tonight you'll have some for tomorrow, the important thing here, is not to panic. He spotted a pile of sticks several yards away, and ran to them, figuring that the least he could do was help get some kindling. Running his hand over the pile, he discerned that they were fairly dry (most likely sheltered by the umbrella of pine needles above), and the pint sized adventurer began picking up the fallen tree limbs. Then he heard a growl.

Slowly turning his eyes met the burning ferocity of a mountain lion's, and his hands slacked allowing the kindling to hit the wet soil below. The beast stood on the other side of the river, but considering Dipper's past experiences with mountain lions, he knew that it could probably make the leap. It's okay, it's probably more afraid of you then you are of it. The creature hissed and revealed it's collection of razor sharp teeth. The poor human gulped, and took a step backwards, trying to distance himself from the bank. The beast hissed again and it lowered it's head to the ground, it haunches reared up, preparing to leap. Moving as slowly as possible, the terrorfied pre-teen reached down, and picked up several of the fallen sticks. Then he grabbed a sizeable stone and heaved it at the cougar, turning and sprinting off into the forest as the creature was startled by the stone hitting right next to it's tail.

Dipper laughed out loud a the adrenaline rush of his flawless escape hit him, and he bounded over rocks and fallen trees, the cool breeze bringing a smile to his otherwise serious features. Finally returning to the cave, he called out into the dark interior. "Wendy? I didn't find any clean water, but I did get some more firewood. You won't believe what happened-" He glanced around, and realized that his lanky crush had not returned. But it's been so long since we both left, she must be back. He turned back to the forest, and licked his dry lips. She could have gotten lost, or the mountain lion could have gotten her, or-

He tried to ignore the swirl of "what ifs" and ran down the mountain with twice the gusto.

* * *

Two hours ago

When she was younger, Wendy had often collected kindling with her brothers, usually in the dead of winter. They would get all their coats and hats on and shuffle out into a blizzard, searching for the dark wood of fallen branches against the immense blanket of white. So despite her injury, the first thirty minutes went by extremely easily, with Wendy strolling between the trees, and picking up the latest stick to catch her eye. Of course half of them were fairly damp, but the redhead knew that she had plenty of time to collect enough, and continued on her way, always keeping the mountain in sight. After about fifty minutes though, the pain started to rear it's ugly head, and the spunky teen winced with every other step she took with her injured left leg. Twenty or so minutes after that, and the pain had become a real monster. She tried to focus on something else, the birds singing, and lumber jack tune her father had taught her, the crunching of pine needles underfoot. Nothing helped.

Finally the pain was agonizing, and she convinced herself that, she just needed to get one last stick. For some reason she felt that before returning to the safety of the cave, this stick was an immediate concern. Perhaps because she desperately wanted to contribute, to be more than a burden. Or maybe it was because she didn't want her nimble friend to do any more work, after all, he must have gotten up at five or six to get everything ready, and had probably not had a good night's rest due to his bed being the stony floor of a cave. So she staggered on, forcing herself to complete this one last, albeit slightly meaningless part of her task. Finally she reached this final piece of kindling, and upon picking it up she turned and half sprinted towards the mountain, unaware of the eyes which followed her.

The pain was different now, it was more searing, and it ran through her faster. Which somehow made it easier to bear, but as the teen ran out of breath and had to come to a stop, the pain caught up with her, and Wendy had to lean against a tree. "Uhhh! Work you stupid goddamn leg!" She was relieved to be able to swear, this situation did not lend itself to any of the kiddy curses that she used around Dipper and Mabel. Gazing up at the grey sky she felt a cold wind hit, and her flannel shirt, already wet from the drizzle, did nothing to keep her warm. The exhausted redhead rolled up her pant leg and inspected her injury, a horrified look came upon her face when she saw how much the bruises had swelled, and how much blood had stained her pant leg. Grabbing a branch not too far above her head, she lifted herself to her feet, her kindling scrunched under her left armpit.

Slipping in the mud at first, she regained her footing, and began to trudge in the direction of the shelter she shared with her young companion. Then she heard a growl from the bushes behind her, and, not knowing or caring what was lurking behind her, the frightened teen leapt back into sprinting. Her boots squelched uncomfortably in the mud, and she discovered that the rain had returned. Perfect, just perfect. She bit her lip to distract from the pain in her leg, but cried out when her right foot tangled with a half buried log, and she fell face forward into the quagmire at her feet. The sticks scattered across the mud, and Wendy groaned. She tried to get to her feet, but the pain in her left leg and in her right ankle was too much and the most she could do was roll over. It's okay, just lie here for a little bit, and let your ankle rest for a little bit. Then she heard the same growl, and slowly rose to see a mountain lion not thirty yards away, licking its chops.

She raised her legs agonizingly slowly and leaped to her feet as the creature charged, then for the third time today, she sprinted through the woods like a flash fire. Seeing a particularly large group of logs ahead she prepared herself for the pain, and leaped over the obstacle, landing right in front of it and crying out as she discovered that her ankle was worse off than she had anticipated, hobbling forward the lanky prey took a quick glance behind to see if the beast had followed her this far, and promptly crashed into someone. Groaning, she sat up in the mud and rubbed her forehead, identifying the person she had collided with being her a quite dazed Dipper Pines.

He shook his head, and smiled when he realized her presence. She was surprised to find him wrapping his arms around her, but returned the affection with a smile. After a moment he let go awkwardly and stood up, the redhead began apologizing as he helped his crush to her feet, "I'm sorry, there was a mountain lion so I dropped most of the sticks back there and-" He shook his head, "I'm just glad you're safe, don't worry, I couldn't find clean water. So we failed together…?" She smirked at his nervous smile and sighed, "Yeah, I guess we did."

They heard a growl coming from nearby, and Dipper looked up nervously "We should probably get back to the cave now; we have a little water and some kindling so we can try again tomorrow." She nodded and took a step but winced visibly, seeing her pain the kindhearted pre-teen ran over to her side and helped support as she walked. She smiled and squeezed his shoulder, as they returned to the cave in comfortable silence.


	3. Chapter 3

_Dipper ran through a forest of ash trees, calling out for Wendy. He had awoken late to find her missing, and had spent what felt like an eternity trying to find her. The woods didn't seem to end, every time he turned a corner more trees appeared. And all the trees were watching him, what had once appeared to be the scars of lost limbs were now big red eyes which observed his every movement. The trees not only watched, but also somehow laughed as his cries became more and more desperate. Their laughs became louder as the object of ridicule tired, "W-Wendy…please…" Exhausted, he collapsed on the ground and cupped his ears, but the sound seemed to reverberate inside his mind, as if there was no escape._

_He closed his eyes and prayed that it would end. Then he heard what sounded a voice pierce the giggling, and removed his hands in order to discern whether or not he had imagined it. "Dipper, I'm right here. Just open your eyes." Recognizing the voice of his ginger crush, he opened his eyes, and screamed in horror. Her eyes were gone, and most of her skin was torn off, but just enough remained to make her look twice as nightmarish._

The pre-teen's eyes opened and he saw Wendy staring down at him with concern in her dark green eyes. "Dude, are you okay? It looked like you were having a nightmare." Dipper took a few deep breaths, before looking back up at the injured teen's face. "I…" he dismissed the image of the rotting Wendy from his mind, "I'm fine. Th-thanks for waking me up." He rose, and stared out the mouth of the cave. The sun was high above the valley; he could make it out through the blur of clouds which caused the day to be downcast. "Ah, man I overslept…" Wendy crawled over to the fire and stoked the embers, before speaking absentmindedly "You were pretty tired from yesterday, so I decided to go get the firewood." His brow furrowed as he returned his gaze back to his lanky friend, "Why didn't you just wake me up?" The redhead frowned at him, before grabbing some more kindling and throwing it on the fire "I'm not helpless Dipper, I found a good walking stick and decided to go get some wood and make up for yesterday. And like I said, you were really tuckered out."

He yawned, emphasizing her point, and nodded to himself, still trying to get used to letting his injured crush take care of herself. Then he walked to the edge of the cave, and began checking on the canteen he had fashioned into a rainwater collector.

"Besides your pretty cute when you're sleeping." His face went red at this revelation, and when the teen removed her attention from the fire, and her gaze met his, realization dawned on her. Immediately turning back to her work, she coughed and tried to change the subject "I didn't see any sugar tracks, so it must not have followed us." Dipper coughed himself, and moved over to the fire with the collector, "That's uh...really good…I uh, I was hoping we wouldn't have to deal with him anymore."

He placed the container on top of the mini platform (he had built out of sticks) which extended over the fire. She raised an eyebrow, "How do you know that it wasn't a female cougar?" He rolled his eyes as she giggled, "Okay then, I'm glad we no longer have to deal with a cougar of indeterminable gender." The teen nodded with a smile as she removed her boots, and placed her feet in front of the fire, "There aren't many berries left on the bush just outside, so we'll have to find a different one by dinner time." Dipper was silent as he stared into the flames; his smile had vanished and was replaced with a look of intense focus. This caused his companion to frown, "Dude...are you okay?" He was brought back to reality by the question, and his eyes darted about suspiciously before he responded, "I'm fine. Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He stood and mumbled something about going to get more kindling.

"Alright short stack, what's the problem?" He turned back to her with a sigh, and as he lifted his head and as her eyes met his, she realized something. _He hasn't seen Mabel in three days. _"It's Mabel isn't it?" He looked a little surprised by question, "No-I mean yes sort of but, ugghh…" He sat down on a stone and glared at the stone floor, taking a few deep breaths to try and clam himself down. Standing with a little effort, she joined him. "Okay, start over." He smiled at her compassion and rubbed his hands together as he spoke, "I miss her, and Stan. I miss her jokes and her smiles, and her albeit slightly annoying frequent invasion of my privacy." Wendy chuckled, and Dipper gave a weak smile before continuing.

"But I worry more about her then I do miss her. I'm always the strong one; she's the fun and exciting one." Wendy frowned, "Hey! I think your fun and exciting, you led me to a bunker where I had opt beat up myself!" the shadow of guilt crossed his face and she tried to cheer him up, "What I mean is, those roles aren't mutually exclusive, I've seen your sister do some pretty awesome stuff. I'm sure she can take care of herself." he nodded, "But-but what if I die out here? What's going to happen to her? If she goes nuts or becomes extremely reclusive because I couldn't survive long enough to wait for her then…" "Dude, I already told you that we're going to make it out of this. You know that…right?" The young detective scratched the back of his neck, "Yeah but…well, remember what you said about there not being anymore berries on the bush nearby?" She nodded calmly, an awful feeling of where he was going with this tightening in her stomach.

"The thing is, I checked yesterday, for other bushes. And I didn't find any…" The redhead glanced out the mouth of the cave, "Well that doesn't mean there aren't any…" He continued despite her optimism, "…and pretty soon it will stop raining, and then we won't have any clean water." She turned to look at the boiling canteen, "And I know that the only option…is for me to go." The injured teen's gaze instantly turned back to him, "Wait a second, what do you mean you have to go." He tried to start but failed, "It's just that-" He stopped again, sighing at her friends nervousness, Wendy placed an arm around his shoulders and asked in a calm voice for him to explain.

He looked up at her for a moment, before letting it all pour out. "I don't to leave you Wendy! But if I stay we'll run out of food and water quicker, and if I go then there's a chance I could find some campers or hikers and get us out of here." he started to avert his eyes, and his voice started to break, "A-and, at least if I didn't make it, at least you would have a better chance of surviving long enough to find someone." She could fell her throat becoming scratchy, and she saw him start to tremble. "B-but I don't want to l-leave you." The teen reached back around him, and held his head against her shoulder. "Dipper…I'll be fine, my leg is getting better, and I've got fire in case any wild animals try to get me!" she said the last part to try to lighten the mood, but the trembling pre-teen in her arms was not reassured.

"If I leave, a-and come back…and your de-gone, then I won't be able to forgi-" His lanky crush felt tears wet her shirt, and she could feel her heart shatter into a million pieces as Dipper's words turned into broken sobs. She could feel her own eyes moistening, but gulped and tried to put on a brave face.

_He needs me. _

Lifting the small brunette slightly off of her shoulder, she sat him down and smiled at him. "Dipper, I'm going to be fine." he was about to try and speak but she cut him off, "And even if you don't trust yourself, _I _trust you to find help, and save me." He looked down at the ground, and she leaned over, "You have done things way more difficult than this, and always gotten out ahead. And...You _are_ my little hero." He looked back up at her with shining admiration and she smiled as she realized just how much her trust meant to him. He wiped his nose, nodded and stood up.

"So, what's the plan big guy?" He spent a moment in contemplative thought, "Okay, we're gonna need some vines, logs, and lots of mud."

* * *

"This is Shandra Jimenez, reporting from Mount Valor, where a fifteen year old girl by the name Wendy Corduroy and twelve year old boy by the name of Dipper Pines have disappeared. They were last sighted leaving for Moose-Bear spring. The family's of these tow are right now searching the forest for them, Mr. Stan pines, you are the Legal guardian of the boy, do you really feel that only you, a twelve year old girl, an unusually large man, and his sons can locate these two in such a large and dangerous area?" The old man turned to the camera, "I don't have time for this. Also, my handyman is helping, and the boy's parent's are on their way." He stopped for a moment, and glared at her. "Thanks for the help." then he turned and began climbing down the side of a hill, yelling for the lumberjack who was bellowing the name of his daughter to "Slow down Corduroy! We can't all be gorillas."

Shandra called after him, "Can't you at least tell the people of Gravity Falls what this boy's real name is?" Just then a red haired boy leaned into the frame, "HEY REGINALD MILLS! YOUR A DUMBO!" A hand pushed the boy out of the frame just as a small girl in a pink sweater grabbed the microphone, ignoring the reporter's "HEY!"

Girl ran close enough to the camera that her braces could be inspected by anyone who was watching. "Listen up people of Gravity Falls, my brother is the only thing standing between this town and ruin! That means I need everyone in town to come help me find him and Wendy! I'm talking to you Toby Determined, Candy and Grenda, Bud Gleeful, Free pizza guy, and Lazy Susan. I'm talking to you Old Man McGucket, whatever his sons name was, Mr. Poolcheck, Pacifica Northwest and whatever her parent's name is, and All of Wendy's friends, and that guy who married a woodpecker."

Shandra pulled the microphone away from her, just as the rain began to pour down with twice the ferocity. She sighed and was about to gesture for the man to shut off the camera, when she saw something, and two voices were heard nearby. Brightening the reporter gestured for the camera to follow her and she ran up to the man and woman who had just exited a taxi with their bags. "Excuse me; are you two the parent's of the missing twelve year old?" The man sighed and was about to speak, when a hand tugged on his arm, "Arthur, we don't have time for this!" the man nodded and followed the woman who had just run over and was now hugging the girl with the pink sweater. "It's okay, honey, we're here now." She whispered to the distressed pre-teen.

"Could you answer the question that's on every one's minds?" The man stepped in front of the frowning brunettes, "Will you just-" "What is your son's real name?" The man pinched his brow, as his wife stood, "THAT'S IT!" she reached over and the camera went dark as a struggle broke out.

* * *

"Okay, that should just about do it." Dipper smiled as he stared down at his invention triumphantly, his tall companion looked at it with a tad more skepticism. "How is a sled going to help? There isn't any snow." Dipper began placing the second canteen and the hanker chief of berries into the mini cargo hold. "But this sled is built to slide on mud, I'll take it down this mountain, and it'll make the descent of Mount Courage faster, and then I'll be at Mount Valor, where they are most likely looking for us, and if they aren't-" His lanky friend gazed out at the tip of Mount Valor, the only part that could be seen from here. "The town is only a few miles away from that isn't it?"

He nodded, and glared up at the golden sun which glared down at them. They had spent an hour foraging berries and boiling the second canteen of rainwater, then two hours collecting the necessary parts for Dipper's master plan, and Wendy, knowing how to whittle, had spent the last hour and a half transforming the logs and large sticks into semi-usable boards, and planks. The brunette had constructed the device, having apparently learned about how to via one of his frequent raiding of the library. "It's just like building a regular sled, except you have to use moss covered logs.

He inspected the device for the umpteenth time, clearly not trusting his craft much more then the lanky teen behind him. He stood and looked back at the sunset, before turning back to Wendy with a half smile. "Well, I uh, should probably look for some more berries before I leave. That way you don't have to look for breakfast…" "Dipper, I already found breakfast." "Well then I should go get you some wood, in case it's really cold tomorrow or the ground around here becomes unstable." She sighed at his nervous nature, "There's plenty of wood Dipper…" He looked back at the sled; "Are you sure because you could always use-" Wendy leaned down and kissed him on the cheek.

His ramblings turned to mutterings, which died in a low guttural sound as the blushing pre-teen stared off into space. "Your gonna be fine, I'm gonna be fine, and we're gonna see each other real soon, okay?" He nodded, and blinked rapidly before returning to Earth. "O…okay, well then, that is…er, I uh, I'll see you real soon." she nodded and gave him a thumbs up, "I'll be back with help in two days tops!" "Go get 'em tiger!" He climbed aboard the sled and glanced back at her. Although she was putting up a brave front, he could see the worry in her eyes. "Could you come over here?" The redhead rolled her eyes and walked over to the sled, "Alright what is it this time you nervous Nellie?" He stood up, almost as tall as her with the sled beneath him, and he leaned forward, planting a quick peck on her cheek.

Then he sat down and pushed himself over the edge, yelling "I am not a nervous Nellie!" as his craft sped downhill, taking the small capped tween into the woods and out of sight. Left behind was a stunned Wendy, who found a smile growing on her reddening face.

* * *

_**There will only be one or two more chapters, I hope you enjoy. **_


	4. Chapter 4

After giving Stan a withering glare, the parent's of the Pine twins had joined in the search. But after hours of scaling the mountain, checking every nook and cranny, and screaming at the top of their lungs, the entire group was exhausted, and Manly Dan had to take his sons back home. The Pines family (and Soos) had seen tears in the immense man's eyes as he drove away, and it (somehow) sunk their spirits even lower.

Stan took them to his house in the busted up machine which he called a car. The trip there was wrought with awkward silence, the intense quiet only broken for Mabel's father, who sat next to her in the back with Soos, thanked the handyman for his help searching. "It's okay dawg; I'm great friends with your son, and with Wendy." "Aw, yes the uh, teenage girl…she's at least fairly responsible right?" this question was met with more silence and before the man-child nodded slowly "Uh, sure…" He started sweating obscenely and avoided eye contact by staring out the window.

The father found it slightly strange that a man in his young twenties liked to hang around with children half his age, but the man had proved to have an incredible amount of devotion when searching, so Arthur sighed and turned to Mabel expectantly. "Well is she?" The girl looked down at her lap, "Wellll not exactly…" Her father raised an eyebrow, "What does that mean?" The usually cheery pre-teen glanced out the window, "Well she'd be great at fighting off any wild animals, and she knows a lot about the forest…" Her mother turned in the passenger seat, "But is she responsible?" Stan coughed and joined the conversation, "Well she would never abandon him, those two are incredibly close, and she would never leave his side, and neither would he." They turned to look at him, causing the old man to return his eyes to the road and state in a lower tone, "It's extremely annoying and gets in the way of business."

Mabel nodded adamantly, "Stan is right! She would never abandon Dipper! They have saved each other's life way too many-" Her mother interrupted with fire in her eyes, "They what?" The girl clapped two hands over her mouth, but was given two scrutinizing glares, and she uncovered her mouth to whispered her answer, "Nothing…I didn't say anything." Turning to the driver the angry woman glared at him, "What does she mean 'they save saved each other's lives"? Would you like to explain what has been going on up here?!" The shyster gulped and struggled to locate the right words. "We send our children up here, thinking that you would be able to keep them safe!" The words hit him like a train, and he stared forward emotionless, feeling a lump in his throat, he sensed that she was about to continue her beratement.

Luckily his nephew was there to save him. "Honey, why don't we discuss this later?" His wife turned to him and was about to speak, when she caught sight of her daughter's face.

The young brunette had pulled her sweater over her head, something she only did when under extreme duress, and she had sunken into her seat, with her hands over her head. The woman felt a ton of guilt crash down upon her, and nodded, before turning back in her seat and staring out the wind shield.

* * *

Dipper gripped the stone ledge and pulled himself to his feet, a gust had just almost sent him tumbling into the black forest below, the only thing stopping him from falling to his doom being the vines which grew on the side of the treacherous mountain path. He looked over at the sled, and thanked god that it had not been sent over the edge as well. Grabbing the vine which acted as the handle, he tugged the device along behind him, as he trudged against the storm, gripping the face of the mountain fro support against the wind.

_Almost there, almost there._ He kept repeating that phrase over and over in his mind, the knowledge that he had been telling himself that for the past hour degrading the meaning of the words. _Wendy's counting on you, you have to make it. _Now that one, that one refused to wear itself out, because he knew, that somewhere out there in the black wet there was a tall redhead who, needed his help more then anything else. _Then why did you abandon her?_

He ignored that question, trying to solidify the fact that it was not an accurate representation of the events which took place.

It was likely starvation vs. the more likely survival of one of them. He remembered reading about how awful starvation was, how it made your body start to eat itself from the inside out. _You'd run out of water long before you died of starvation. _He nodded at the truth of that thought, and lost his grip as he felt something hard smack against the top of his head. Dizzy from the pain, he groped the darkness for far too long before grabbing a hold of a rocky bump extending from the side of the mountain. After taking a moment to catch his raising breath, he glared up at the hail which came hurtling down towards him.

Realizing that he could not continue that much farther, with the weather's new form of attack, he had to move inch by inch with his body pressed against the mountain (not to mention he was pulling the sled behind him). With no sense of time he had no idea how long it took before he reached the tree line, but it felt like hours. Finally making it, the exhausted and soaked pre-teen flopped down beneath an ancient pine, and gazed at the branches which swung in the air not too far above.

Leaning against the wet bark, he closed his eyes and listened to the rhythmic sounds of the rain splattering into the pools of muck. He was completely beat, his muscles felt worn out, and his legs felt like the noodles which they resembled. _Maybe I could take a quick rest…_

_NO! She needs you!_

He bolted awake, and stared out into the darkness; smiling sleepily he lay back down. _Good, I was only asleep for a few minutes…_

He heard the branches shift with the wind; and gazed up to see the spots of stars twinkling down from the rifts in between the clouds. They looked so pretty, they looked like the shine he could see in her eyes when she was really and truly happy. _Am I ever gonna see that shine again? _Something inside him told the boy not to worry, to rest. Because she would want him to. And because he was no good dead. So the youthful adventurer began to snore as he drifted away from the realm of consciousness.

Finally they arrived at the poor excuse for living conditions, and Stan offered his bedroom, saying that he would sleep in the extra room. Choosing to discuss the events of the past few days _after_ they had moved their bags from the car to the bedroom, Arthur found himself approached by Mabel. She was dressed in some purple pajamas, with a picture of a teddy bear in the center of it, and had bags under her eyes.

_She must be as tired as me and Ruby. _

The adorable pre-teen looked at the floor and muttered something inaudible. "Mabel, what is it?" She looked down at the dirty carpeting, "I was wondering…Stan let me sleep with him since Dipper disappeared, I mean when he got sleep, most of the time he was busy…but could I sleep with you guys tonight?" His opinion of his uncle grew slightly, and he leaned down to her eye level, "We'll be happy to, but you have to go brush your teeth." She gave him a brace filled smile and zipped off to do as told.

He watched her leave and sighed. That smile had lifted his spirits slightly, but it was still nothing compared to the constant smile which she normally wore. He sat down on the bed, and gazed at the broken fan which clung to the ceiling. The last conversation that he had shared with Dipper had not been a pleasant one.

_"Why don't you just admit it, you want to get rid of me!" _The boy had wanted to spend the summer enjoying his new tablet, reading some new books, and hanging out with his sister. Of course his parents had wanted the boy to receive more fresh air, and Arthur him to make some new friends, enjoy nature, and stop "wasting time" with silly things like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster. His son, being the sensitive little detective that he was, had taken this as an insult to his maturity and masculinity, two things which he hated being criticized about.

The argument had turned into a shouting match, and had ended with a _"YOUR GOING WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!" _And the boy had stomped away to take refuge in the sanctity of his room. Putting a hand to his forehead, dark images swirled through his mind, like ghosts.

_I pushed too hard, and now I'm gonna lose him. _

"Are you okay?" He glanced up from the floor to give his beautiful wife a broken smile, "I was just…worrying." She nodded and sighed, before joining him on the bed, "I know what you mean. I'm so sorry for freaking out back there; I was just making it worse."

He rubbed her shoulder, "It's okay, you were in a stressful situation, and I was panicking just as much as you were, I was just keeping all the panicky thought in my head." She looked up into his dark brown eyes, enjoying the comfort which flowed forth from him. Leaning against his chest she stared up at the moldy ceiling, "I didn't mean to snap at your uncle, but something weird has been going on here, and I feel like he's been lying to us with every one of the calls he's made." Her husband sighed, "I'll talk to him. I don't think he actively was being irresponsible, but he's probably just too busy running this place to look after two kids. I should have known that." Just as he said that, the two of them heard a small voice emanate from the hall. "He's not too busy."

They turned to see their daughter enter the room, a determined look on her face. "He has a lot to do maintain this…uh…shack, but he always makes time to spend with us. And he lied and fought to protect us from the dangers of this town." Her mother leaned forward, "What do you mean dangers, sweetie." She sighed looking down at the floor in defeat, "Me and Dipper, we've spent a lot of this summer having adventures and getting into trouble." She saw the looks which were beginning to form on the adult's faces and raised her hands as she continued her speech, "But we got into that trouble on our own…mostly, and Stan tried to get us to stop, but Dipper lied to him." "Why would he-" "Because he likes adventuring, he likes being in the center of the action and learning about conspiracies and junk. And we always end up on top when we get in trouble, and when we get ourselves it no too much trouble…Stan is always there to save us. And when he's in too much trouble, we save him. And he may take advantage of his ability to use us as a free workforce, but…he's the best great uncle that anyone could ask for…and he's made this the best summer that I've ever had."

The miniature brunette continued as her parent's stared in shock, "And he doesn't always have to be there, because Dipper always has a million plans up his sleeve, and he's always ready to make tough decisions when in a dangerous situation. And sometimes he gets himself in too deep, but that's my fault for indulging him more than it is anyone else's."

Her eyes began to water, "A-and _if_ we d-don't find D-Dipper, or we do but he…he isn't fine… please don't blame Stan! He did his best…a-and he has e-enough guilt w-without…" She started to break into sobs, and both of her parents stood and rushed over to hug their little angel, stroking her hair, and telling her that it would all be alright. Ruby picked her up, nodded to her husband, and climbed into bed with exhausted pre-teen clinging to her. Arthur watched as Mabel snuggled up against her mother and let her fears disappear into the pillow. _You've got one last thing to do before sleep. _He kissed his daughter's forehead, before walking through the doorway, and to the Shack's "family entrance". Sitting out on the back porch staring out into the encasing shadow, was his uncle.

The man did not usually look very appealing, but right now, he looked caring inducing. He had deep bags under his eyes, and his messy gray hair was poking up in every direction, he had a deep somber look in his eyes, and his shoulders slumped forward on the greatest show of defeat that Arthur had ever witnessed. "Hey Stanford…" The man looked up, his mood seemed to improve for a moment, but then lower again. "Why don't you come inside?" He offered a little smile and his hand. The old man nodded, and used his nephew's extended hand to pull himself to his feet. "Ruby and I would like to apologize for judging you right off the bat. We were just worried about Dipper. Mabel told us everything…and we're very happy that you were here to keep those two out of too much trouble." Confusion crossed Stanford's face, "Wait-she told you..._everything_?"

"Well not everything, she wasn't particularly specific in what it was she and Dipper had been doing, but she said that you were always there to save them if they got to deep." "AH! That makes sense…" "Can I just ask you; to reassure you before I go to bed…they've never been in a life or death situation before, right?" He glanced behind him, and gulped "Well uh, I…that is, well I am…umm...no?" Arthur sighed, "Stan could you please be honest with me…have they ever been in life threatening danger?" Adopting a smile, the man replied with enthusiasm, "Unless you count the time that cooked dinner of, them no!" The father smiled and shook his head "Your cooking hasn't improved since I visited has it?" He shrugged, "I'm a busy man." Arthur gave him a skeptical look, "Stan, it's been like, twenty years."

"Really? God, I'm older then I thought I was." After wishing him a goodnight, Arthur removed his shoes, and got dressed in the bathroom shortly before joining his slumbering wife and daughter in bed. Staring up at the ceiling he smiled to himself. _Dipper's all grown up. _That thought was both somehow sad and comforting._ If half what Mable said is true, then he's going to be fine. _There was still worry in the back of his mind, but being intellectually and physically exhausted, he slipped into the embrace of sleep, with faith in his son.

* * *

Wendy awoke with a start; the sound of a growl had pierced the veil of sleep, and alerted her to the presence of the creature which had entered the cave. She looked into the darkness, hearing more hisses released by her stalker. Scooting backwards across the cave floor, she grabbed a stick with a half smoldering tip and pointed it in front of her, talking a deep breath as the face of the cougar she had seen not too long ago stood only five feet away, its deathly black eyes squinting at her.

"St-stay back." She shouted as she swung her weapon back and forth in the air, the creature recoiled slightly, but swung a claw at her, and hissed again. "I mean it!" She tried to remember what the protocol was for mountain lions, but it had been so long since she had last been quizzed on survival tips at Lumberjack camp, that the memory did not come easy. With her back to the fire, she realized that she had accidentally fenced herself in, and began changing direction, trying to scoot around the side and behind the fire. The creature leaped forward, and she kicked it in the nose with one of her boots, watching as the beast retreated with fire in its eyes. Grabbing the wall, she began pulling herself to her feet, just as the mountain lion sprung forward once more and she had to leap to the side to avoid being tackled by the beast. Unfortunately, her leg was not feeling up to such the action, and just as she landed on her feet, her ankle gave way, and the lanky teen crumpled to her knees.

The creature turned and bound towards her, just as the determined redhead remembered where Dipper had left his pocket knife. Crawling around the fire, she grabbed the knapsack and flung a bottle of sunscreen at the beast. It bounced off the creature's sore snout, momentarily stunning the large cat, and then the creature shook it off and charged at her. Her hand finally coming in contact with the Swiss army knife, and flicked open what she hoped was the blade as she stabbed the device in the direction of the cat, just as it landed on top of her. There was struggling, bleeding, hissing, moaning, and then, total silence.

The smoldering fire fizzled out.

* * *

Dipper woke up with a start, his eyes wide. Gulping he looked around and saw that it was still dark, getting to his feet he stepped out from under the refuge of the tree to see that it had stopped raining as well. Instead of clouds he stared up to view cluster upon cluster of stars, they shined in his eyes and, once again reminding him of his sweetheart, his nightmare about her being attacked by the mountain lion faded from his mind. There was still worry left in him, and it pushed him away from the beautiful sight and caused him to continue up the mountain.

Because Wendy he was still quite tired, due to how early it was, and how sore his muscles were from pulling the sled so far. Despite this, he pushed on and found himself humming a tune out of boredom and to distract himself from his worries. The tune of _"Disco girl"_ mixed with the wind and weaved through the forest as the intrepid twelve year old ascended the mountain. Finding himself almost to the top, his thoughts turned to his parents. By now they had most likely arrived via the bus, and were probably fretting all over what had happened to him. _At least they'll be there to comfort Mabel. _

He began worry however about how much they might blame Stan for it, and the knowledge that once they found him, they would take him back to Piedmont, finally reached him. _I'll never get to see Wendy again…or Stan, or Soos. I'll never get to figure out who is the author. I'll probably just forget about the whole summer one day, and the rest of my life will be normal. _

He looked back up at the stars, and his grip on the sled handle tightened. _It doesn't matter. Right now the only thing that matters is getting help for Wendy, before something does happen._

He was stunned as he reached the top, the whole valley lay in front of him, and the stars lay on top of it like a giant glittering blanket. He sat down on a small boulder and hugged himself, as the chilly wind blew harshly against his back. Tasking a few deep breaths, he pushed the sled to the other side of the peak, glancing down the side of the mountain to make sure that there was enough mud left. Once he had determined that, he glanced back in the direction of his ginger sweetheart, and gave her a salute.

Then he climbed aboard the sled, and, glaring down at the dark forest below, he pushed off, and went hurtling down into the thick unknown at breakneck speeds.

* * *

**_AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well this chapter had ALL the feels. Hopefully it's not too sappy. (Spoiler alert; the next chapter will probably be the last, and will have so many feels that this chapter looks cold and heartless. I hope I didn't make their mother too hateful, she's just freaking out. I would do the same if my son disappeared (I don't have children, I'm speaking theoretically here). I also hope that the father isn't too apathetic to the whole situation. _**


	5. Chapter 5

Arthur and Ruby had snuck out of bed at 6AM, wanting their daughter to get a good rest; they got dressed as quickly yet quietly as possible. They exited the room, and Arthur was going to ask Stan for the keys to his car when he saw the old man sitting in the kitchen with a cup of coffee, the old man poured them a couple of cups, and called Soos, asking his dough faced employee to come babysit incase Mabel woke up. Once the handyman had arrived, and the elder had assured them that Mabel would be fine in Soos' care, they packed into Stan's Diablo, and began the drive to Mount Courage.

Upon reaching their destination, they decided that Stan would search the west side, Ruby the south, and Arthur would search the east side, they would all circle back to the car in an hour if they didn't find anything, and search the north side together. Thus an exhausted Arthur found himself at the east side, calling into the woods for his son. He had been searching for almost an hour, and was considering turning back, when he heard singing. It was scratchy and out of pitch, but not without some charm_. _"Hallelujah I'm a bum, hallelujah a bum again, hallelujah give us a handout to revive us again…" Where have I heard that tune before?" He whispered aloud. Moving towards the sound of the whistling, he brushed aside a branch to see an old man wearing suspenders, a scarecrow hat, and a cast on his right arm, bending over something, a contented look on his face as he hummed. Looking closer, Arthur realized that the thing the old man was bent over was his son, a blanket covering him from the chill, and a large bandage wrapped around his forehead.

"Get away from him, NOW!" The man was shocked by the appearance of the intruder, but grabbed a rock and hissed like an animal, "He ain't goin' anywhere with you! I know who sent you! The _Lizard-men_! THE LIZARD-MEN HAVE INFILTRATED OUR GOVERNMENT!" Raising his hands above his head, he attempted to calm the homeless man. "He's my son, now calm down or I'll have to call the police." The man scratched his head in confusion, before bursting out laughing. "They won't be any help! HAHAHA! You're the boy's father! HA! You're almost as bad a father as me!" Arthur took personal offence over that comment. "Listen, I appreciate you wrapping up his wounds, and getting him a blanket, but-"" The man sat down on a nearby boulder, and hit his knee as he spoke. "You-you don't have ANY idea of what your kin have been doing! Why you're as blind as Blind Ivan himself!" He began to giggle, and Arthur, fed up with the hobo's shenanigans', decided to ignore. He leaned down, and (just to be sure) he checked his sons pulse.

Smiling at the throb which returned to him, Arthur wrapped the blanket around him. Then he glanced up at the bearded madman, who had become serious all of a sudden. "May I-" "Sure, I got plenty of blankets back at ma' shack." Giving the man a small, thankful smile, Arthur picked up his sleeping son. "How did he get the wound?" He prepared himself for a fight in case this man was actually responsible for the wound, and had kidnapped his son and that poor teenager. "His thingamabob crashed into that there boulder," he jerked his thumb in the direction of the boulder, and Arthur saw a pile of splinters and twigs. "and I found him unconscious and since one of ma' shack's was nearby, ah' decided to be neighborly." This answer was met by a frown, "Why didn't oyu take him to a hospital?" The man rolled his eyes, "I already told you that the Lizard-men are lookin' for 'im! You really aren't getting this whole crazy thing are ya'?" The hillbilly began to walk off, muttering to himself the whole time.

Sighing, Arthur rose with his sleeping son in his arms, and he began to trudge in the direction of the car. He smiled with the knowledge that his son was alive, and that this would bring immense relief to the rest of his family. However, there was still nagging fear in the back of his mind, fear of his son having a concussion, fear of this experience scarring Dipper for life, and the question _"What happened to the girl that was with him?"_ would not leave his head. A thousand awful situations began to fill his mind, and he was saved from them by a small voice. "D-dad…?" He looked down, and gave his son a relived smile, "Yes son, I'm right here." The boy shifted in his father's arms, "Is mom here?" "She is, I expect she's gonna smother you in hugs and kisses." The injured pre-teen stared up at the brilliant colors which bloomed across the sky, and his father looked up as well, noticing that it was daybreak already. Suddenly the boy bolted upright, and his father almost lost his hold on him, "WENDY! Dad, we have to go get her, she's at a cave on Mount Valor, and we have to go get her right now!" "Dipper, we need to get you to a hospital, and we'll call the police once we get back into town, and they'll be able to go get her." "No Dad! We have to! I promised her-I...I have to-"He hushed the anxious pre-teen. "She's going to be fine, alright? And besides, we can't drive over there; the police will be able to airlift her out of there." He frowned up at his father, "Dad, the police don't have a helicopter."

Arthur sighed, "Then they'll call the state, or walk there, either way there's nothing we can do about it." "But she has a broken leg! I have to-" "You promised you would get help for her right?" He nodded; and Arthur saw something he had never seen before. His son had never looked so determined, so ready to do anything for a cause. The nervous little boy who hid himself away in his room was gone. And of course he was, according to Dipper's story he had climbed mountains for this girl.

_Just like what I'd do for his mother. _

"Tell you what, I'll grab the first aid and walk over there myself, and I'll have your mother call Manly Dan to come help me move her once she gets _you_ back into town." "R-really?" "Sure, don't worry bud, she's gonna be fine." They arrived back at the car, and Arthur's uncle and wife were overjoyed to see their favorite little sleuth. Ruby ran over and picked him up, squeezing him just like her husband had predicted. The small boy smiled and his cheeks flushed, but he hugged her back, almost harder despite his weaker form. She placed him back onto the ground and Stan kneeled and ruffled his hair. "Ya' did good kid, ya' did good…" Dipper gave his great uncle a smile, and surprised him by leaping forward, and hugging him around the neck. Arthur and Ruby giggled at the sight of the stunned Stan, who relaxed and squeezed him back.

After Arthur told them he was going to Mount Glory to get the teenager, and asked Ruby to call Manly Dan and tell him to bring his lumber truck over there. Stan insisted coming with him, ignoring Arthur's polite objections. "There are mountain lions over there, and there's no way I'm gonna you get knocked off by one of them after all this." So Stan hugged Dipper again, and told him to prepare for one of his sister's super squeezes, and Arthur hugged his wife and son. But as he turned he felt a small hand tug on his coat, and saw Dipper avoiding eye contact.

"D-dad…I'm sorry…for what I said before you sent us here. I should have been…more open to the idea." He got on one knee and lifted his son's head by his chin, "No, son I-I pushed too hard. And if I hadn't kept pushing, then this would never have happened." The pre-teen shook his head, "Dad, none of this is your fault, or mom's, or Stan's. There are a lot of things you can try to prevent, but sometimes bad things happen, and the only thing you can do is soldier through them." There was wisdom in his twelve year old eyes, wisdom born from hardship that his father was unaware he had encountered. "Thanks." And then they were off, disappearing into the forest.

* * *

With the mental image of the cave that Dipper had described in his mind, Arthur hiked through the dense pines, surprised to find that this uncle was traversing the terrain almost better than himself, despite being twenty years older. _I suppose that's what happens when you live in the mountains your whole life. _The senior's 8-ball cane also helped and Arthur found the shyster annoyed at him when he had to stop and catch his breath. _Just like when he took me hiking._ They didn't know how long it would be before the girl's father showed up, but judging by his devotion the previous night, they were sure he was on his way, and Stan assured him that, together, they could take on any animal which attacked, which Arthur found slightly relieve him, but worry him at the same time. As they walked, the vibrancy of sunup disappeared, and was replaced by clouds, and it began to drizzle as they reached Mount Glory, and fog began to roll in, making it even harder to tell if they were traveling in the right direction.

None the less, Arthur caught sight of cave, and began running towards it, when a cane whipped out and stopped him. "Now wait a second, there buddy." Arthur frowned at his uncle, "That's the cave right over there!" The elder nodded, "I'm aware, but I want to make sure your ready for what could be in there." "What do you mean?" He pinched the bridge of his nose and glared back, "I'm saying that there could be a rotting corpse in there, and I'm asking if you're ready for that?"Arthur turned and stared into the darkness of the cave, Stan kept talking as images flooded his mind, "Cause' otherwise, I don't think Mr. Corduroy wants you retching next the corpse of his daughter, and considering how distraught that might make him, I wouldn't put it past him to knock you clean out."

Taking one last look at the cave before entering, Arthur mentally prepared himself, and he confirmed that he was ready. Stan nodded grimly, and followed him in. The first thing they noticed was the smell of death, and those images, awful images of rotting corpses, and swarms of maggots, came flying back at excessive paces. Stan turned on his lantern, and they saw a number of objects scattered across the floor, and a pile of burnt sticks. And next to that pile…

They both ran over as quickly as possible, and removed the body of the rotting cougar from atop the lanky teen. The girl had an awful gash on her forehead; and her pale skin was marred heavily by abrasions and bruises.

Stan leaned over her, and lightly tapped her head, "Corduroy? Are you okay?" She moved her lips and he saw that they were so dry that they bled. "Don't worry you're gonna be fine." Arthur looked down to see that in her left hand she held a blood stained Swiss army knife, and she bolted up as he tried to remove it. Stan put a hand on her shoulder, "It's okay honey, you're safe now." She turned to the elder, and licked blood of her lips, "Mr. Pines…?" he nodded, "Did you find Dipper…?"_Even now, when she's on the verge of death, she's worrying for someone else?_ Stan nodded, and helped her lay back down.

They heard a crash and the sound of fleeing birds, and Arthur walked over to the mouth of the cave, and peered down through the fog to see something large not too far below. Then he heard the bellowing call of the girl's father, he called "WE'RE HERE!" before he turned back to Stan and spoke. "I better guide him here," he turned his gaze to "I'll be back soon with your father in a moment, alright?" she nodded weakly as Stan handed her a bottle of water.

Then the father stepped out of the cave and continued calling out for the immense lumberjack as he descended the mountainside.

* * *

"Who's that?" Stan cradled her head as he tipped the water into her dehydrated throat, "That's Mabel and Dipper's father." She smiled, "He looks just like his son…he's got the same little, hair thingy." "Yeah, that's a Pines thing." Then they heard what sounded like a berserkers' call and Manly Dan ran into the cave, carrying an extremely squished looking Arthur pines with him. He dropped the protesting adult to the ground, and scooped up his daughter, hugging her tenderly to keep from causing any further pain. "I *SNIFF*WAS SO WORRIED!" She gave the strongest smile she could and hugged her big softie of a father back. "It's okay dad, you taught me to well for me to die to a landslide and a stupid mountain lion. Besides, I had Dipper with me, and I already told you how resourceful he can be." He squeezed her tighter, and then he cradled her in his arms, and looked down at the two Pines, "C'mon, my lumber truck is at the base of the mountain." Stan raised an eyebrow and walked to the cavern mouth, "How did you get it here?" Then he saw the trial of knocked over trees which ended with a huge lumber truck parked at the base of the mountain.

"Ah, I see."

Dipper had fell asleep in the back seat of the car, and when he woke up he was staring into the dark brown eyes of his sister. She was dressed in her "LOVE IS JOY" sweater, and a purple skirt, and Waddles sat on the bed next to her, blinking up at him. Once the bubbly girl saw that he had awoken, she promptly squealed and grabbed him tightly. He gasped for breath as his sister's fluffy arms wrapped themselves around him, and threatened to squeeze his soul back out of his body. "OK! OK! Could you *WHEEZE*loosen your grip!" She snuggled her head up against the side of his head. "I'm never letting go of you again…." regaining his breath he glanced around to see that he was in a hospital room, and that it was fairly late according to the clock above the door way, and the light which shined through the dusty blinds on the window. Then he spotted his mother standing in the doorway, and she motioned for him to keep quiet with a mischievous smirk.

"Mabel, let your brother get a little breath into his lungs…" The pre-teen in question, looked up from her embrace just in time to see her mother gently move her to the other side of the bed. "Because I want to hear you laugh!" His mother turned the girl over, and leaned down, blowing into her stomach, and causing her daughter to erupt into a fit of giggles. Dipper giggled as well, and his mother raised an eye brow before turning to her daughter. "Should we?" Na evil smile stretched across Mabel's face and Dipper's eyes widened and he began to protest as they closed in. But it was too late. Seconds later he was guffawing and snorting as the two brunettes' tickled the living daylights out of him. When they had finally stopped and he had caught his breath he looked up at his mother, "So-uh, how long have I been out." She sat down on the bottom of the bed. "Around four hours, the doctor said you had a slight concussion, so you should stay here for the night." He glanced at the covers, before looking back up at her with hope in his eyes, "Is Wendy…is she-?" Her mother smiled at the thoughtfulness and devotion of her son, "She's fine." He let out a breath and relaxed in his bed, before looking back at her anxiously, "Can I visit her?" She patted his arm as she rose, "Not right now honey. Tomorrow okay, she's been through a lot and needs all her rest, besides; you shouldn't be up and about yet."

He nodded dutifully and looked down at the blanket in disappointment. "Why don't you play a game with your sister before we have to leave?" Their mother blew him a kiss, and exited the room. As she left, Mabel lit up and grabbed something on the floor before lifting it into the air and proclaiming the title. "DICEWORLD!" Dipper spoke as she removed the lid, and placed the board next to his legs. "Mabel, you need three people to play DiceWorld." She snorted as she set up the playing pieces, "DUH! That's why I brought Waddles!" She pulled the pig up next to the board, and he raised an eyebrow. "Are you allowed to bring a pig into the hospital?" she ignored his question instead she started sorting the pieces and only glanced up to ask his preference, "Green as always right, bro-bro?" he nodded and smiled at how well she knew him.

* * *

_"Dipper?" Wendy was sitting in a huge zebra colored couch, while the boy she had just called out for, stood on the edge of the fountain which stood nearby. "Watch this!" The brunette instructed as he smiled, then he dove forward, disappearing beneath the surface of the water. "Dipper!" She ran over to where he had stood moments ago, and was about to throw a life preserver into the mucky water, when Dipper stood up. Only now he was dressed in a tux, sported a goatee and was taller than his ginger companion. "Wendy, it's alright, I'm fine. But thanks for not running." "Wait, what?" he never answered her question; instead he chose to lean forward, and press his lips to hers. A truck crashed into the wall, and knocked over the fountain, but it still didn't faze the redhead. He pulled back and she stared at him in confusion, "I don't get it, why did you-" He spoke took her hand in his, his voice melodic and soothing. "You know why."_

Wendy bolted awake, and was startled to see three pairs of eyes staring back at her. She smiled when she realized who the owners were. All of her brother's were at the foot of the bed, and they all smiled when they saw she was awake, and moved over to crowd around her. Her father stood still, and gave her a teary smile. Storing the confusion of her dream away for later, she began to ruffle hair, hug midsections, and answer inane questions, smiling and chuckling the whole time. Once her brother's started to get a tad rowdy, their father handed the elder a wad of cash, and told him to go get enough snacks to technically count as a supper. Then he sat down on the bed, and she was almost catapulted into the air.

After a moment of awkward silence she spoke first, "So uh, am I gonna need crutches?" He nodded; "But only for a few weeks." The lanky redhead nodded with a sigh, but accepted her fate. Truth be told, she was just happy to be alive. "I just wanted to tell you Wendy…I…I couldn't be prouder of you," She smiled and her cheeks became a little pink at the praise, "You survived in the wild with a broken leg. You killed a cougar and survived underneath it's corpse for a day, and you looked after little boy even while impaired." She sat up straighter, "Actually dad, he sorta…looked after me." He frowned, clearly confused, an emotion he did not enjoy. "I mean I don't want to toot my own horn, nut what I did was still pretty impressive. But Dipper…he is the most amazing twelve year-old I have ever met. He soldiered through everything; he stuck by me when none of my other friends and none of my past boyfriends would have, and he didn't want to leave even when he knew he had to." She grinned, "There's something really special about him."

The lumberjack considered this for a moment before standing up, and telling his daughter he would be back soon, then he exited the room with his trademark stomps. Her grin widened as she had a fairly clear idea of where it was he was going.

* * *

"YES! I get a rocket boost and you're still frozen on space 14!" Mabel sped her piece along the board, as the dice which had been placed on Waddles' nose rolled off and caused his owner dismay when they landed on double six. Gasping, Mabel moved Waddles' yellow piece to the final square. "Waddles…has won." She bowed before her pig, extracting a smile from her brother, who rolled his eyes as she declared that they must have a re-match and began resetting the board. Then there was a loud rapping sound which attracted the attention of the Pines twins, they turned to see that it had been Manly Dan who had somehow opened the door without their noticing. The man inhaled and spoke in the softest voice they had ever heard him use, "May I speak with him, alone?" He pointed a gloved finger at the surprised Dipper, and Mabel nodded, picking up her pig, and winking before she walked past the huge redhead blocking the doorway.

The lumberjack took a few careful steps over to the bed and began to stare at Dipper pensively. The boy squirmed under the gaze and stuttered out words, "C-can I help you?" The man nodded, "I came here to thank you for saving my daughter's life." The boy relaxed and smiled at the mention of Wendy, "Oh it was no problem-" The man interrupted him and slammed a fist down on the bed, "YES IT WAS!" The startled pre-teen was pushed into the air; and came back down in a heap. "Okay! Whatever you say Mr. Corduroy! Whatever you say!" The father of four coughed, "Sorry. But clearly you are a very mature and very masculine twelve year old." Dipper blushed lightly, "Well uh, thank you. That's very nice of you to-" "And my daughter seems to be enamored with you." Dipper's blush deepened and his face became scarlet. "Wha-r-really?" "Almost as you are with her."

If Dipper could get any redder, then he would have been a mascot for 50's era communism. "And well…You saved my little girl. And you did more for her then any of the loser's she's dated in the past, so I'm gonna give you one shot, do ya' hear me?" Dipper nodded, trying to appease the man, but protested "But sir, I don't-I mean she doesn't-we wouldn't-*SIGH* what I mean to say is, that me and Wendy are fine as friends, and I'm not gonna screw that up." His crush's father frowned and then burst out laughing, "You-HAHAHA!-mean to tell me that you faced cougars, and literally CLIMBED MOUNTAINS for her, but in the end you're not gonna fight for her?" Dipper didn't look sure of himself, but he nodded. Manly Dan shook his head as he spoke and trudged out, "Maybe you're not as mature as I thought…" The boy called after him though, "Waitasecond!" The redhead stuck his head back into the room; and the young detective bit his lip and glanced at the tile floor. Then he looked back up and met the father's fiery emerald eyes with his own. "You said that…that she had feelings for me?"

The question was answered with a nod. He bit his lip even harder, then he asked which room she was staying in, and Manly Dan smirked, watching the boy rush out of bed just as the words left his lips. Dipper ran past his family in the hall, surprising them, and causing Manly Dan to lean out of the doorway wearing an extremely smug smile.

* * *

Wendy was staring at the dusty ceiling when she heard footsteps and turned to see Dipper standing in the doorway. She smiled brilliantly, "Hey Dippingsauce, I was afraid that I wouldn't get to see you 'till tomorrow." He returned the smile but it looked forced and he shifted uncomfortably. She sighed and beckoned him, but he still hesitated. "Well come on!" She cried out exasperated, he gulped and stepped forward, "So uh, did my dad actually thank you." He nodded, "With words and all?" Dipper rolled his eyes "Yeah…" The redhead looked shocked "Wow. Big day." Dipper licked his lips, "He uh, said more as well…" She leaned forward "Really? He must have said more today than he does all year!" Dipper chose to ignore that joke and kept speaking as he hoped up on the bed, "He uh, said that um, you…liked me?" her response choked in the back of his throat, "Of course I like you." He looked at her hopefully, "I mean, he said, that you…like-liked me…is-is that true?" The redhead avoided eye contact and began to chew on her lip, "Dipper…listen…I-" "Can I just um, know if that's true?"

She gazed into his eyes; he was wincing, preparing himself for the worst. Even after everything he had been through, everything he had done, he was still afraid. Afraid of losing her. Wendy moved a hand to his face and cupped one of his cheeks, he had a scrape there from his crash landing, and she ran her finger over the band-aid as she answered in barely a whisper. "Yes…" A smile crawled up his face and he gulped, "So does that mean…I mean, would you at least, give me a shot?" She sighed and glanced at the blanket, "Dipper the thing is-" He raised a hand, "Can I just speak my mind?" she nodded dutifully, "I know that it would be kinda awkward, and I know that after this summer, I might not ever see you again, But I feel like, we should at least give it a shot…I would be honored if you gave it a chance. Because you're smart, and funny, and beautiful, and if you don't want to get physical yet then I'm fine with-" The girl of his dreams closed her eyes and leaned forward, pressing her lips to his.

His babbling ended and she felt his surprise disappear and be replaced with return of the affection. She found that he was really good at kissing, which was weird, because as far as she knew this was his first kiss.

Wendy opened her eyes and saw the closed eyes of Dipper Pines. She wrapped a hand around his head, pulling him forward and pushing back harder. He opened his eyes in surprise, clearly inexperienced, and she smiled at how cute he looked when he was confused. Then he got the hang of it, and he put a hand behind her head, and pulled her closer, intertwining his other hand with one of hers. Finally, when it seemed like they would both run out of oxygen, they parted and gazed at each other for a beautifully silent moment.

Then they heard a squee from the direction of the door, and turned to see both of their families staring at them with mixed expressions. Mabel was squeezing her pig tighter than ever and muttering something about this being "just like one of the Wendip stories I wrote." Stan was smirking and giving his great-nephew thumbs up, Dipper's father covering his eyes and smiling in embarrassment, and his mother was looking exceedingly confused. Wendy's brothers were looking at the two of them in utter shock, their mouths dangling precariously close to the tile floor. And Manly Dan…he was looking at them in what was a strange mix of pride and regret.

Wendy turned back to Dipper with a smile, "You wanna do that again, except this time we use our tongues and moaning of each other's names an unnecessary amount of times?" At first he was confused, and then he saw her mischievous smirk, and grinned wickedly as he played along. "Yeah…but you're going to need to instruct me how to do the tongue thing, in detail…" There were multiple gulps from their assorted family members, and then Wendy leaned incredibly close to her new boyfriend, and spoke in a low seductive voice. "Why don't I _show_ you instead?" Everyone outside the door except for Mabel (who was promptly pulled away moments after) trampled over one another in an attempt to escape. The couple laughed at their relative's squeamishness, and Wendy wrapped her arms around Dipper, he hugged her arms back and gave her the most wonderful and honest smile she had ever seen. Wanting to see more of those smiles, the redhead leaned forward and kissed him again, this time more briefly, but as she pulled back she discovered that he was smiling even brighter somehow. "You're really good at kissing, am I not the first girl that fell for the great Dipper pines?" He blushed, "I practiced kissing on pillows." She giggled as the image came to mind, and he blushed redder, before licking his lips, and asking in a playful tone "Soooo is that a yes about being my girlfriend?"

The ginger grinned and punched him playfully in the shoulder, pulling him in for their third kiss yet, as she spoke. "Shut up ya' big nerd."

* * *

The next few weeks were fairly uneventful, Dipper and Mabel's parent's decided that their children could stay for the remainder of the summer and after much discussion they were (eventually) persuaded that their son's relationship with a fifteen year old was perfectly fine. Their parent's also decided to take a week off work to spend with their children, and found that their daughter' craziness and only grown over the course of the summer.

Wendy had to take it easy, and found having crutches about as annoying as she had predicted. Fortunately she had a new boyfriend who waited on hand and foot to get her whatever it was she needed, in fact, Dipper was so enthusiastic about helping her that she had to tell him to calm down several times. Stan had made her resume her duties after the first week, but had given her more time to relax, most of which she spent hanging out at the arcade with Dipper.

Mabel was completely ecstatic about her brother's relationship with her favorite redhead, so much so, that she created statues of them from paper mache, as well as creating a mobile filled with pictures of them which she placed over Dipper's bed.

Which he tore down and stuffed under his bed moments later.

The Saturday after that particular occurrence, everyone had gone down to the pool, with the exception of Dipper, because Poolcheck hated him, and Wendy (who wasn't afraid of Poolcheck) was spending her first day in weeks without the support of crutches, and didn't think that swimming was the best thing to do right now. Instead she decided to walk over to the Shack, unaware that the owner was enjoying his perfect spot at the town pool, with no small white haired children to bother him. She wrapped on the door upon arriving, and glanced through the window to see if she could locate any movement.

Meanwhile there was a certain twelve year old upstairs, which had just finished his first knitting project. He had spent many hours practicing with Mabel, wanting to make sure that he got everything perfect. When he heard the knocking he took it for another confused tourist, and he sighed, carefully removing his masterpiece from desk and placing it on his bed. Then he ran down the stairs, "Just a second…" He called out to the tourist annoyed by the insistent noise. He opened the door and was about to instruct the tourist to get lost in a haughty tone, when he recognized (his) Wendy staring back at him. "Hey squirt, where's Stan?" He smiled and stepped aside to let her in, "At the pool. Oh wait a second, can you go up to your special place?" He gestured to the ceiling to indicate what he was talking about, and she raised an eyebrow "Why?" The nervous pre-teen shrugged, "No uh, particular reason I just thought we could hangout up there!" Wendy's emerald eyes narrowed and she nodded slowly, "Riiight…suuure…" He licked his lips, "Uh, you don't have to if your leg hurts too much…" She shook her head, nah, I'll be fine," She began ascending the stairs, "You are gonna join me in _*our*_ special place, right?" He blushed and nodded, and the ginger smirked as she began trotting upstairs.

Dipper waited until she was on the roof to speed to his room, and pick up his present. _This is perfect. Okay, Dipper YOU CAN'T screw this one up. _He straightened his cap, and opened the window, before climbing out onto the roof. Closing the window behind him so that birds didn't fly inside, he began to climb up the side of the Shack's roof. The action reminded him of the duel he had shared with wax Sherlock Holmes near the beginning of summer. That seemed like a lifetime ago. He smiled with the knowledge that, although he had failed over and over again in trying to impress Wendy, in the end, he impressed her just by being himself. As he pulled himself onto the other side of the roof, he thanked the Powers That Be that he had been there with her.

Spotting the lanky redhead relaxing on her secret hideaway, he slide down the side and clambered over to her. She moved to the side as he swung his arms like a windmill almost went off the edge. Instead she grabbed the back of his collar, and pulled him into a sitting position. He found his face incredibly close to her, and the embarrassment of being so clumsy mixed with the fluttery feeling of being so close to her, causing his cheeks to turn rosy. "You gotta be more careful squirt, your precious merchandise." He blushed harder, and she leaned back against the roof tiles, "so what was it you wanted to talk about?" The young brunette regained his sense, and reached into his vest, "Actually… I kind had something I wanted to show you." The laidback teen stretched her legs, and asked in a perky tone "C'mon Dipping-sauce, you know that I'm not as big a fan of mysteries as you are. What is it?"

He removed the trapper hat, and placed it upon her stomach, causing the ginger to sit up and inspect what the object was. Wendy just stared at in confusion, she turned to a grinning Dipper and began to ask how he had found it and repaired it, when he answered. "I found it at the bottom of Mount Valor, and I decided I would give it to you if-when," he corrected himself, "We met again, but until the night of our first kiss," she shook her head, "First three kisses, Dipper." He licked his lips and nodded, his cheeks slightly pinkening at the thought. "That night I remembered it, but the next day I checked my pants and all that was left of it were a bunch of scraps. So I got Mabel to teach me how to knit, and remade it." Wendy inspected the hat and saw that there were very slight stitch marks on it, "Sorry if I ruined it, I just figured-"

The redhead threw the hat on, and leaned over, giving him a bear hug. "Don't you ever apologize for making something for me, okay?" He nodded and laughed at his own nervousness, leaning back, he relaxed on the roof, turning his head to gaze into the eyes of his favorite redhead. Everything had been wonderful before, but now she had her hat.

Now, things were perfect.

* * *

_**SUPER LONG FINAL CHAPTER! I hope the ending lives up to your expectations, this ended up differently then I had assumed it would. I hope everyone is in character, and it's not too boring. Thank you for everyone who favorited this story and favorited me, If you enjoyed this but did not follow me, why not follow me? I will be creating more Wendip (Dendy? Wippy?) content very soon, I have a more comedic story about Wendy becoming jealous of Pacifica coming up, if your into adventure and supernatural stuff as well as half fluff, then I'll ask you to check out "Reversed situations", which is almost complete. And if you like horror, then just wait...I have a story about Dipper, Mabel, and Stan getting stuck in Silent Hill coming up. So what ever you do, "DON'T TOUCH THAT DIAL NOW! We're just getting started!" **_


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